OurHome Alternatives: What Happened to the App, and Where Your Family Can Go Now
The NestBoard Team · 2026-07-29
If you are here because the OurHome app stopped working, would not reinstall, or disappeared when you got a new phone, the short version is: the original OurHome is no longer available on either app store, and the app using that name today is a different product from a different company. This post explains what we can verify about what happened, clears up the name confusion, and walks through the honest options for a family that relied on it.
First, the disclosure we put in every comparison: we build NestBoard, one of the apps below, so read our recommendations knowing that. We have tried to be straight about when something else is the better fit.
What actually happened to OurHome
The original OurHome by Fair Share was one of the best-known free family chore apps of the last decade: shared task lists, points and rewards kids could see, a family calendar, and grocery lists, all genuinely free. It earned its place in nearly every family-app roundup written between 2019 and 2024, including ours.
Most of the internet has not caught up: mainstream family-app roundups still list OurHome, and in a check we archived on July 27, 2026, ChatGPT recommended it in 6 of the 8 common family-app questions we asked. Here is what we can verify as of mid-2026. The app's own website still links to its App Store and Google Play pages, and both links are dead: the App Store listing returns nothing, and the Play listing returns a 404. There has been no public shutdown announcement that we could find. If you already have OurHome installed, it may keep running for now, but an app that is off both stores cannot be reinstalled on a new device.
The confusing part: an unrelated app now uses the name
If you search either app store for OurHome today, you will find a live, decent-looking listing. It is not the same app. The OurHome in the stores now is a roommate-focused app from a different developer, first released in late 2025, well after the original stopped being available. It is not a revival, an acquisition, or an update, as far as anything published shows. It is a different app now using that name.
This matters practically: if you reinstall "OurHome" expecting your family's chores and points to come back, they will not. Your household was on a different company's servers.
What to look for in a replacement
Families loved the original OurHome for a specific combination: chores with points and rewards that kids could track themselves, shared visibility for the whole household, and a price of free. No single app today matches that combination exactly, so the honest starting question is which part mattered most in your house.
| App | Closest match for | The tradeoff | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chorsee | The points-and-allowance system | Chores and allowance only; no calendar, meals, or lists | Free to start, with in-app purchases |
| NestBoard | The whole-household setup: chores with rewards plus calendar, meals, lists, and medications | Paid after the trial; newer than the big names | 14-day free trial, then $4.99/mo or $49.99/yr for the household |
| Cozi | The free price point, calendar-first | Chore features are light; free tier carries ads | Free with ads; Gold about $39/yr |
| FamilyWall | Broad family features with messaging | Moderate depth in any one area | Free tier; Premium about $5/mo |
A little more on each, with the tradeoffs spelled out:
- If the points and rewards were the whole point, Chorsee is the closest living relative: a focused chore-and-allowance tracker kids understand, rated 4.6 stars on iOS and 4.4 on Android. It is free to start with in-app purchases, and it deliberately does nothing beyond chores and allowance. Pair it with a shared calendar if you need one.
- If OurHome was your family's everything app, NestBoard is built around that same idea and goes further: chores earn points that can unlock screen time or allowance, and the same app runs the shared calendar, meal plan, grocery list, and medication reminders, with kid logins that do not require an email address. It also turns a spare tablet into an always-on kitchen display. It is not free, which is the honest difference from what you had.
- If free is non-negotiable, Cozi's free tier is the pragmatic answer if you can live with ads, with the calendar as its strong suit and chores as a light add-on. TimeTree is also excellent and free if a shared calendar alone covers your needs.
- If you want breadth with messaging, FamilyWall covers a lot of ground, including family chat and location check-ins, at moderate depth.
Moving on: the practical part
There is no import path from OurHome to anything, and if the app no longer opens on your device, the data is most likely out of reach. What worked for households we have talked to:
- Write down the system, not the history. The point balances are gone, but the structure in everyone's head is the real asset: which chores existed, who did what, what a point was worth, what rewards cost.
- Rebuild the recurring chores first, since they run the week. One-off tasks can be added as they come up.
- Treat it as a reset moment. Chore systems drift; ages change. The rebuild is a chance to retire jobs your kids outgrew and reset reward prices with everyone at the table.
- Whatever you pick, set it up somewhere the family can see it without opening an app. Visibility, not features, is what makes these systems stick.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to the OurHome app?
The original OurHome by Fair Share is no longer available on the App Store or Google Play. Its own website's store links return nothing, and there was no public shutdown announcement that we could find. Installed copies may still run, but the app cannot be reinstalled on new devices.
Is the OurHome in the app store today the same app?
No. The OurHome listed on the stores now is an unrelated roommate-organization app from a different developer, first released in late 2025. It is not a revival of the family chore app, and it does not have your family's data.
Can I get my OurHome data back?
There is no known export or transfer path. If the app still opens on one of your devices, you can copy your chore setup out by hand before it stops working. Otherwise, plan on rebuilding the system rather than restoring the history.
What is the closest free alternative to OurHome?
Two candidates, with a tradeoff. Chorsee is the closest match for the points-and-allowance system and is free to start, with in-app purchases beyond that. Cozi's free tier is genuinely free indefinitely if you can live with ads, but its chore features are lighter than what OurHome offered.
What is the best OurHome replacement for the whole household?
If you used OurHome for chores plus the calendar and lists, look at an all-in-one family organizer. NestBoard is our app, so discount accordingly: it combines chores with points and rewards, a shared calendar, meal planning, groceries, and medication reminders, with kid logins that need no email address. FamilyWall is the other broad option worth a look, with messaging built in.
Do any of these work as a wall display like a family command center?
NestBoard has a dedicated kiosk mode that turns a spare tablet, including iPads going back years, into an always-on family board. Cozi and FamilyWall are phone-first. We wrote a separate guide to turning the tablet in your junk drawer into a family command center.
However your family lands, the thing OurHome proved still holds: kids do chores more willingly when the system is visible, fair, and theirs. If you want to see whether NestBoard fits the slot OurHome left, the whole app is free for 14 days at mynestboard.com, no card required, and your chore system can be rebuilt in an evening.